Vegetarian diet. Where do I start.

[Fuzz]

You mentioned eggs, most stores have free range organic. Taste better, too.

[Crumpy-Gunt]

Just seen this. Dang it.

For anyone who wants to be a veg. I would recommend going grocery shopping, learning some recipes and spending a good chunk of time cooking for yourself and planning / meal prep. To be a healthy vegeterian or vegan takes a lot of planning, information, time, cooking etc. You cant just warm up a piece of meat and quickly eat with a bite of lettuce and a piece of bread or some rice like most people do.

To be a healthy vegetarian takes time and dedication. You will realize its super easy eating meat because its a 1 stop shop for a lot of essential nutrients that are not easily found in one single source, in a small serving - anywhere else.

So you will be cooking and eating more. But its good. You will like it if you do it right. It just isnt easy.

When you are ready you can be a vegan, but thats even harder. Vegans are cool. One of us just choked out Conor Mcgregor.

[Swift]

It's interesting to see that nobody has jumped in and questioned your masculinity in 2016 like they did back in 2011. Have times changed? The first couple pages of this thread are annoying as hell. I'll never understand the need for meat eaters to pile on because someone chooses not to.

Anyway, I'm not a vegetarian myself. I had to give up red meat for health reasons a few years back. I don't miss it too much but I was never a big steak eater anyway. I still do occasionally give in to the odd burger but then feel like crap the next day. I do eat seafood and poultry (white meat rather than dark) though.

For some meal suggestions, if you're still eating fish, then sushi is a handy fast food option. Planet Organic can be expensive but they do a great vegetarian meal deal from their deli for about $11 (1 entree, two sides)that could honestly be a lunch for two people. I recommend the spinach potato cakes, thai tofu rice and the sweet potato salad, but they have lots of options. Also Save On Foods carry soups from Souptacular a local Alberta company. These are awesome. $6.50 a packet. We throw them in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a gorgeous smell in the evening. I recommend the Pea & Barley and the Autumn Harvest. Very filling and great value for money. One packet feeds four of us with enough for lunches the next day.

[socalwingfan]

The happyherbivore.com has a really good meal planning program. It breaks down the groceries you need to buy for the week and provides recipes. You can basically make all your meals for the week in a couple of hours on the weekend and be pretty much good to go. It is a really helpful tool to break into a plant based diet.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

You mentioned eggs, most stores have free range organic. Taste better, too.

Free range organic eggs from a store are likely factory farmed from chickens kept in cages early on so they learn not to leave them. Then they just open the door and the chickens don't leave because they are fed in their cages.

Factory farmed free range eggs may not be any more humane than regular eggs. Depends where they come from.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GGG

Free range organic eggs from a store are likely factory farmed from chickens kept in cages early on so they learn not to leave them. Then they just open the door and the chickens don't leave because they are fed in their cages.

Factory farmed free range eggs may not be any more humane than regular eggs. Depends where they come from.

Maybe they don't leave because they are chicken

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GGG

Free range organic eggs from a store are likely factory farmed from chickens kept in cages early on so they learn not to leave them. Then they just open the door and the chickens don't leave because they are fed in their cages.

Factory farmed free range eggs may not be any more humane than regular eggs. Depends where they come from.

So you are saying I have been paying extra for no reason??? I hate the world.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by GGG

Free range organic eggs from a store are likely factory farmed from chickens kept in cages early on so they learn not to leave them. Then they just open the door and the chickens don't leave because they are fed in their cages.

Factory farmed free range eggs may not be any more humane than regular eggs. Depends where they come from.

Also I remember reading somewhere about how chickens are generally less stressed out when they have a "roost," as opposed to wandering around in the open. I have actually no idea what that means precisely or if it's true, and I don't care enough to actually do any research, but I'm throwing it out there like a soccer mom on an anti-vax bender.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Also I remember reading somewhere about how chickens are generally less stressed out when they have a "roost," as opposed to wandering around in the open. I have actually no idea what that means precisely or if it's true, and I don't care enough to actually do any research, but I'm throwing it out there like a soccer mom on an anti-vax bender.

Free run means they are not caged but the hens run free in an open barn, free range hens are in the same barn environment but they also have "access" to the outdoors. Cage free environments do not prevent the chickens from killing and eating each other.

[indes]

We've been moving this direction too! Just got 16 hens this year for eggs, my mother in law does meat birds and pigs. We're gonna re fence in our field and do 3-4 cows this year as well. The meat is all way better than store bought and making some money doesn't hurt my feelings either

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

Free run means they are not caged but the hens run free in an open barn, free range hens are in the same barn environment but they also have "access" to the outdoors. Cage free environments do not prevent the chickens from killing and eating each other.

lol wut? Really?

[troutman]

Book Review:

Vegan Betrayal: The Myths vs. the Realities of a Plants-Only Diet

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org...nts-only-diet/

Much of the research is faulty: in some studies, vegetarians are lumped with vegans and occasional meat-eaters. Not one respected study has ever shown a long-term vegan diet to be healthier than any other, and most research uncovers troubling deficiencies. They claim meat-free diets are healthier, but healthier than what? Than the typical unhealthy American diet.

Research has shown vegan deficits in many key nutrients including iodine, iron, zinc, taurine, vitamins A, D and B12, selenium, protein, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids. Yes, it is possible to get adequate nutrition from a vegan diet; but in practice, many vegans don’t. She observes vegans eating huge amounts of carbs and vegan junk foods and skimping on their protein and vitamin needs. This is particularly a concern for teenage girls who are still growing; teenage girls are a big part of the vegetarian demographic.

Bottom line: Research shows that a mainly plant-based diet is healthy, but the findings can’t be used to justify a plants-only diet.

While it is possible to get adequate nutrition from plants alone, it requires a lot of knowledge and discipline, and in practice many vegetarians begin to suffer from insidious borderline malnutrition.

Some argue that we can’t digest meat; that’s simply not true. We can and do digest it. Plant protein is actually less digestible than meat protein.

Arguments from evolution tend to miss the point: humans are not carnivores or herbivores, but omnivores.

To be consistent maybe vegans should be more reluctant to kill plants. New research indicates that plants have a degree of awareness, change their behavior in response to environmental conditions, communicate with other plants by chemical signals, and may perceive pain.

It is generally accepted that plants-only diets are better for the environment. That may not be true.

I wish I could recommend this book for its funny, engaging human story and its trenchant analysis of plants-only diets, but the later chapters are contaminated with beliefs not based on scientific evidence. Too bad! I agree with the author that the evidence for health and environmental benefits and the ethical and evolutionary arguments are insufficient to justify a plants-only diet.

[OMG!WTF!]

I still feel gross after eating meat.

[MelBridgeman]

I am a vegetarian too!! My staples are french fries and Oreo cookies..but no meat!

[troutman]

P.E.I. monks buy 600 lbs of lobster to release them into ocean

'Hopefully, we can find a spot where there are no cages waiting for them'

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince...ters-1.3672032

[DownhillGoat]

^From the article:

"Fishermen actually found us a better place to release lobster so they won't be captured again," he said.

Haha suuuure they did.

[AcGold]

Vegetarianism is tough, protein is the toughest part. A man/woman can only eat so many eggs. Spirulina, quinoa, chickpeas are pretty much necessities. I went pure vegan for a while and it was tough especially if you have any injuries to recover from. Back to meat atleast once a week as it's too hard to eat no meat ever.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by troutman

I went Vegan for a while two years ago to lose weight and lower cholesterol. It worked wonderfully....

I always thought you ate trout.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I always thought you ate trout.

I wish the heck I could like fish, I just hate the taste of it . . . I wish I could eat one, they look so good . . .
- Gil Fisher (The Fishin' Musician):

[Sr. Mints]

Huh. I see I already posted in this thread once upon a time.

So as a former part-time vegetarian most of my adult life (eating meat maybe once a week), I've come to learn what a foolish knob I was.

Never getting enough protein (my minimum requirements are between 96g and 108g/day just to maintain muscle mass), waaay too much processed crap, waaay too much fruit (sugar/carbs) (I was eating 12+ servings of fruit a day for a stretch there, thinking 'damn, I eat healthy!')

It is so hard to get adequate protein with beans and legumes and etc.--especially for me, as I'm 6'6 and built like a skyscraper.

One of the best things I ever did was start seeing a dietician, that was after talking to a friend of mine who's a dietician. I now eat lean meat twice a day.